Is it necessary to add custom robots.txt on blogger

What is robots.txt?

• A robots.txt file is a simple text file placed at the root of your website.
• It provides instructions to search engine crawlers (like Googlebot) about which pages or sections of your website they should and shouldn't index.

Blogger's Default robots.txt

Blogger has a basic default robots.txt file. It's generally suitable for most simple blogs, but there are situations where customizing it becomes important.

Reasons to Customize robots.txt on Blogger

• Preventing Indexing of Sensitive Areas: You might want to block search engines from indexing areas of your blog like admin login pages, drafts folders, or certain labels you want to keep private.
• Resource Management: Limit search engine crawling of low-value pages (like extensive archives) to help crawlers focus on your more important content.
• Duplicate Content: If you have significant duplicate content issues, you can use robots.txt to guide search engines towards the 'preferred' versions.
• Controlling Image Crawling: If you want to prevent image search engines from indexing your images, you can use robots.txt to do so.

How to Add Custom robots.txt on Blogger

1. Go to Blogger Dashboard: Log in to your Blogger account.
2. Settings: Navigate to "Settings" in the left sidebar.
3. Crawlers and Indexing: Find the "Crawlers and Indexing" section and enable the "Custom robots.txt" option.
4. Paste Code: Paste your desired robots.txt code into the text box.
5. Save: Click "Save Changes".

Guidelines for Writing Your Custom robots.txt

• Understand the Syntax: Learn the basic rules of robots.txt syntax:
  • User-agent: The search bot you're addressing (use * for all)
  • Disallow: The URL path you want to block
  • Allow: The URL path within a disallowed section you want to make accessible.
• Resources: Online tools can help you generate a basic file (https://www.robotstxt.org/robotstxt.html).
• Common Examples:
  • Block entire site:

    User-agent: *
    Disallow: / 
    

  • Block a specific page:

    User-agent: *
    Disallow: /my-secret-page.html
    

  • Block a folder:

    User-agent: *
    Disallow: /admin/
    

Important Notes:

• Test Changes: Use Google Search Console's robots.txt tester before making changes live.
• Proceed With Caution: Incorrectly configuring robots.txt can severely impact your website's visibility in search. If you're unsure, consult an SEO expert or keep the default Blogger file.
• Alternative Controls: Blogger provides additional settings for fine-tuning search engine visibility within the dashboard. Explore these options as well.